Kitchen Table Homeschool

When new home educators contact us, it’s usually about handwriting or math. Today, we’ll try to take the mystery out of teaching writing. Print first or cursive first? Then what brand of cursive is best? And finally, should we bother teaching it at all?

Today we’re talking about teaching grammar. You wouldn't think this is a controversial subject, but many homeschooling families do not, in fact, teach English grammar. Learning about English grammar in isolation does not appear to result in better student writing. We still teach it and we think you should too. It's all about sentence fluency.

Today, we’re going to talk about spelling and vocabulary. It’s important to note that although there is overlap, they are not the same thing. Spelling is when a child hears, or thinks of, a word and is able to write, or know, the letters in the word--in their correct order. I know, I know, you say that some people are just naturally better at this. Well, some people are just naturally better at ice hockey or piano. Does that mean that no one should learn to skate or play the piano unless they’re one of those naturally gifted individuals? Of course not.

(After a month of embargo for our Patreon subscribers, we'll post them here.)

In this episode, we’re going to be talking about English language arts. English language arts is a complex area with multiple interlocking parts. We will take the whole thing apart and talk about each bit separately.

The seven major parts of English language arts are reading, spelling, handwriting, composition, vocabulary, grammar, and literature. This month, October of 2023, we’re going to discuss reading, handwriting, grammar, spelling and vocabulary.

This episode is all about reading, including grade band exemplars.

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Today’s podcast is the first in a series about English Language Arts. This is probably the most complex subject to teach in the homeschool (or anywhere, for that matter) because it’s not really a single subject at all, but rather seven interlocking parts that make up a major academic domain. In this episode, we’re going to give you a quick overview of those parts and in later episodes we’ll go into more depth about each of them.

(After a month of embargo time for our Patreon subscribers we'll release episodes here.)

Relationships are at the heart of successful homeschooling. But how do we leverage that on a practical level? How do we make sure that our kids understand our (hopefully reasonable) expectations and work to live up to them? The answer is routines. Routine sounds so…boring, doesn’t it? But we believe it’s one of the most powerful tools in your homeschooling toolbox.

(After a month of embargo time for our Patreon subscribers, we'll release episodes here.)

Pros and cons. What to be wary of, the importance of a strong support team, and some tips.

(After a month of embargo time for our Patreon subscribers, we'll release all episodes here.)

As the school year starts for many people in the USA, we are often disheartened and surprised to learn just how much our children forgot over their long summer break. We talk about identifying when our children need academic remediation, how to do that remediation, and dealing with the emotional consequences for both parents and children. 

We're changing it up around here. Learn why and how we're doing it.

In this episode, Jenn, Courtney, and Drew draw on past experiences to come up with 20 guidelines for homeschooling. Everything from times tables to instruction types is on the table!